


Talking 'bout the bees, not the birds

by spnscience



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Bees, Blow Jobs, Dean and Cas do not have any issues with their sexuality, Dean does it tough, Dean is Loved, Fluff, Good Brother Sam, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, alcoholic parent, it isn't really addressed, john winchesters A+ parenting, they are just weirdly confident fellows with a lot of other issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-06-27 19:11:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15691626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spnscience/pseuds/spnscience
Summary: It’s his last semester in college, and all Dean has to do is pass.So what happens when he fails the harshest professors subject and has to do an extra credit project? Through the help of his neighbor (and best friend) Castiel, Dean might learn just a little bit about himself, and the birds and the bees.Well, definitely the bees.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> many thanks to Anactorya for betaing this chapter! 
> 
> This will be updated weekly! Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and feelings :)

[](https://imgur.com/0gqLTRG)

With heavy eyes and fluttering eyelids, Dean wondered if he had to be here.

"-and in more rural areas they are at least 5 to 10 degrees cooler. Urban design has meant that "heat islands" form. Part of this is the urban design, how _close_ we build the houses, factories, and other buildings together-"

Five o’clock on a Friday afternoon? Who set a class for then?

"-and when you take into account all of the energy used, from cars and public transport, from air conditioners. Even people give off waste heat-"

A sadist, Dean thought resentfully. That was who. A fucking sadist.

Dean attempted to pay attention as the professor droned on and on… but he was fighting a losing battle. Stifling a yawn, Dean lamented his life. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have enough on his plate. Working nights (was 2am even night?), trying to keep Sammy fed and clothed, and dealing with the fallout from Dad… and this. A Friday afternoon class when all Dean wanted to do was go home and sleep. Why did _this_ class have to be compulsory? Contemporary urban design? He was a fucking engineer, not an architect!

"-of course many materials have a low albedo - remember that, it'll be in the test. This, of course has many follow-on effects. Energy bills are higher, but not only that, the cost of this increased warming is borne by the surrounding areas too. Not least the increase in greenhouses gases, which of course impact on global climate change-" 

And it was hard. The way things were going he’d be lucky to pass, and if he flunked this course that would spell the end of his academic career. And that might be it for one Dean Winchester. Worked to death and flunked out of college. Was that even an exaggeration? Did his success in this class reflect his life? And what did farms even have to do with urban design, contemporary or otherwise? Crowley was probably teaching it wrong.

"-numerous flow on effects. Rising sea levels are just one aspect -"

Dean wished he could find in his heart to care for the farmers. Maybe on a good day he did. But right now his life was nothing but pain and suffering with a double helping of exhaustion.

"-changes in floral and faunal communities. Which will affect us in ways not yet understood-"

Not only was class as dry as old bones but the professor was renowned as a hard marker. All Dean wanted was a pass. P’s get fucking degrees, and with a pass in this subject and he’d be able to-

"And if you would like to pay attention, Mr. Winchester."

Dean’s head jerked up just before his chin hit the desk. Looking up gingerly, he saw Professor Crowley glaring at him.

"Sorry sir, it won’t—"

“See me after class, Winchester.” And with that he turned back to the whiteboard. Dean groaned as quietly as he could. That was never a good thing to hear.

~o~

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Dean waited patiently while Crowley sorted through the papers on his desk. He kept waiting patiently while Crowley opened every fucking drawer, and still didn’t find what he was looking for. He even waited patiently while Crowley opened his briefcase and pulled out a single white sheet of paper.

He wasn’t trying to look, but his name still jumped out at him.

So did the grade.

"This is not a hard class to pass, Mr Winchester."

If Dean hadn’t been so shocked he would have argued: obviously it was hard to pass if he was failing!

The professor waited, and when Dean didn’t say anything, he looked down and frowned. The professors mouth moved a few times, before he nodded, coming to a decision.

"Normally this would be the end of it. There’s not enough assessment left for you to make a passing grade."

And that was as fucking shock as well! Dean didn’t even know what to think? Surely he’d handed in everything? Every single thing, and even it wasn’t great, surely it was enough to-

Unbidden, an image of his father storming into the house sprang to mind. John had been drunker than usual and Dean had ended up mopping a lot of his own blood while John slept it off in a drunken stupor. It had also been the night before his paper had been due in. In the rush to clean the blood up before Sammy got home, Dean had scrubbed the table top and floor with anything that came to hand.

Including one paper due to the next day.

In his mind's eye, Dean could see the blood smear across the words, before it was balled up and thrown in the trash.

"You’re a talented student, Mr. Winchester. And while I would hate to see such a talented future go to waste, this sort of behavior is unacceptable. Now I -"

Closing his real eyes, Dean let the professor's voice wash over him. It wasn’t that he was wrong, it just… it echoed everything he’d been told all through school. Dean was a hard worker. And school was important. Just… not the most important thing.

Dean had been eight years old the first time he’d come home to find the house trashed by his father. He was only glad Sammy hadn’t been there to see it. It had taken all night to clean up the glass and the paper and the God knows what. Dad had been out the whole time, and hadn’t even remembered when he came home. But Dean remembered. He didn’t think he’d ever forget.

And even now, even now that Sammy had long ago had his rose-colored glasses ripped away, he still checked. After all, Sam was only 16. He still deserved to be a kid.

"… are you even listening to me?"

Crowley’s face was thunderous, and his voice wasn’t much better.

Dean opened his mouth to lie, but suddenly, he was sick of it.

"I work as a janitor."

Although Crowley still looked pissed, he shut his mouth.

"When I get off school, I go to my first job, and clean until five. Then I go home and make sure that Dad hasn’t burnt down the house," or killed himself or hurt Sam or a thousand other things, "and make sure my brother gets fed. We do our homework, and I send him to bed, and then I head out to earn money so that dad and Sammy and I have somewhere to live and Sammy has food on the table, and gets to be a normal fucking kid!" 

Before he knew it, Dean’s voice was echoing in throughout the empty room. Taking a deep breath, Dean attempted to get his temper back under control. Bursting into tears or killing the teach wasn’t going to help. 

"I get home,” he continued in a much calmer voice, "at four. Four am," Dean repeated, just in case his teacher had missed it. "I sleep for a couple of hours, then I get up, cook breakfast, and get Sammy to school. Then I come here. And I am sorry if I missed one paper-"

"Worth forty percent."

Dean blinked. Fuck. _Fuck_.

"There is only the final exam left for this class, and even if you got 100% you would still be sitting on a fail, Mr Winchester."

Closing his eyes, Dean took a deep breath. It wasn’t like school was important anyway, right? If he flunked out, he could work more, and try and save money so he and Sammy-

"But this does change things."

Wait. What?

Lips pursed, Crowley drummed his fingers on the desk, face lined with thought.

"This class is all about urban architecture, so find a topic, and research something urban areas can do to support some aspect of the environment."

With a brisk nod, Crowley turned and walked out of the room. Dean still hadn’t picked his jaw up off the floor when Crowley stuck his head back round.

"Five thousand words, not including references, on my desk in three weeks."

And he left.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?" Dean asked the empty room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks to whatabouthefish, beta for this chapter!

Using his most charming smile, Dean headed to a group of students.

“Hi there, I don’t suppose you could tell me where the library is…?”

He probably deserved the friendly scorn heaped upon his retreating head, because it was true: for the first time in his college career, Dean Winchester entered the library.

It was weird and quiet, but he thought he saw some great napping spaces.

 _Focus, Winchester_ , he snapped at himself. Napping wasn’t going to get him through this. He had to… fuck. What was he even supposed to do? Looking around he tried to figure out where to go.

The big sign yelling _CATALOGUE_ in capital letters was probably a good starting point. Drifting over to a catalogue terminal, Dean sat down, cracked his knuckles and stared at the screen.

_Search catalogue by keyword_

Keyword, huh? What the hell was he supposed to look up? Closing his eyes, he tried to remember Crowley’s class. Urban design, right? With trepedatious fingers, he typed the letters in.

“What the hell? 10335152 hits? What the actual hell? Who even writes about this shit?”

Dean didn’t even have words for that. But that was too big. Maybe he needed to start somewhere else. Typing in _contemporary urban design_ Dean sobbed pitifully against the keyboard when 800000 results were returned.

“I’m a good person,” he moaned. “I don’t deserve this. I deserve good things and I-”

“Can you cry more quietly, this is a library.” A messy black head accompanied with a gummy smile popped up at his shoulder.

Dean screamed and promptly got them both kicked out of the library.

~o~

Dean definitely wasn’t pouting when Cas returned to him with a cup of coffee. Taking his drink, he sat at the edge of the campus lake, and tuned to stare at the ducks. Maybe they would come and hang out. Could he do a paper on ducks? Surely ducks were a country thing?

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been kicked out of a library.” Grinning, Cas sat beside him before his expression turned thoughtful. “Not that it’s a _good_ thing. More of an _is_ thing. And also a pain in the ass. I had work to do.” Cas pondered his own drink for a moment before turning his gaze on Dean. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you in there. Any particular reason you were there today?”

Dean looked away and took a long, slow mouthful of coffee. Any normal person would realise that meant he didn’t want to respond, but Cas wasn’t a normal person. He was… well, he was Cas. Maybe that was a good thing? Given how weird Cas was, he probably wouldn’t judge him. Probably. But failing class was pretty damn bad. And weak. And pathetic. And even worse it was only because he forgot to hand in an assignment. What even was his life?

Looking up, Dean jerked, almost toppling back into the pond as his nose clipped Cas’. It was only Cas’ firm grip on his arm that prevented him joining the ducks.

“Shoulda let me fall,” he told Cas miserably, before his eyes narrowed. “Although what the hell were you doing all up in my face?”

Cas leant back, his grip still tight on Dean’s arm.

“Trying to get your attention so you’ll tell me what’s wrong?” When Dean didn’t respond, Cas’ eyes got all soft. “C’mon, Dean. I’m your best friend. If you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”

Biting his lip, Dean wondered. Sam? He’d probably have to tell Sam. No way in hell was he telling Dad. And maybe not even Sam, he had to focus on his own studies, not worry about Dean and his inability to-

“Son of a bitch! Cas, get out of my face!”

Dean fell back - _again_ \- as Cas’s nose practically pressed against his. Once again, it was the firm grip on his arm that saved him. Which was only fair since it was all Cas’ fault.

Rolling his eyes, Cas pulled Dean to his feet, before placing two firm hands on his shoulders and staring him in the eye.

“Dean, it’s me. You’re my best friend, and I’d never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”

And _of course_ Dean knew that. You couldn’t be best friends and neighbours for 15 years without learning something. Mentally crossing his fingers, Dean opened his mouth and let Cas hear all his woes.

~o~

Even though he was half expecting it, Cas didn’t tease him. Instead he just looked thoughtful before smiling his big smile at Dean.

“Don’t worry – we got this. Let me grab some stuff and I’ll see you tonight!”

And then he ran off. Which was a bit weird, but then again, that was Cas. Shaking his head, and feeling a little more hopeful, Dean headed towards his car. He needed to get back before Sammy got home.

~o~

As it was, he barely made it through the door before Sam did - there was just enough time to scout around for the empty (and not so empty) liquor bottles, and get them into the recycling before Sam was slamming into the house.

“Dean!”

Laughing, Dean fielded his brothers tackle-hug, but somehow managing to keep his footing. Even as Sam’s arms came up to hug him, Dean shifted his hold, taking Sam in a headlock as he ruffled those ridiculous locks, dodging the elbows aimed his way.

“Dean, what the hell!”

It would have sounded more threatening if Sam’s voice hadn’t cracked halfway through.

“Shouldn’t attack me, Sammy,” Dean teased his brother, before giving a final ruffle and setting him free.

Sam glared as he smoothed his hair back into place, but his former excitement quickly returned. “Dean! There’s a camp in two weeks’ time, and we get to bring our parent or… or guardian of choice,” Sam’s voice faltered, but Dean heard the steel there. “And I want you to come can you come?”

Dean’s mouth opened to say yes, but his brain reminded him to shut it, because two weeks? There was no way he’d have Crowley’s assignment finished in three weeks let alone two. Even if he cut back a little on work… No. He couldn’t do that. They still needed food and rent and to pay the bills. That didn’t stop just because Dean was a failure. Maybe he should just give up, if he was going to fail anyway?

The mental battle took a little too long, as Sam was staring at him, worriedly.

“If… if it’s about money you don’t have to worry. I… I got a school scholarship and it’s only a little bit because we’re poor, mainly because-”

The worry in his brothers’ voice triggered Dean’s brain to reboot. He shook his head before smiling at Sam.

“Nah it’s not that, Sammy. I just have an unexpected paper due and it’s about something I don’t know much about, so-“

Dean’s voice trailed off as Sam raced out of the room.

“Okaaaaay then.”

It’s not like he expected Sam to be interested. He had his own life, and Dean’s crap wasn’t that interesting so-

“Why aren’t you sitting at the table yet?”

Sam was back, arms piled high with books and notebooks – the pens had all spilled to the floor.

“Uh… what?”

Ignoring Sam’s huffy sigh, Dean picked up all the things Sam had dropped.

“Come on, Dean! You have to get started early. I’m not stupid you know.” Sam sent Dean a bitchface, before he pointed at the table. “You suck at studying, but I’m good at that so I can help you. Now, sit!”

So Dean sat. And wiped a tear from his eyes. A solitary man tear. It was either that or dust... yeah, it was probably dust. He really should clean this place up a bit.

~o~

After getting the details out of Dean, Sam was all enthusiasm.

“This is great, Dean! You should definitely make it an environmental-“

“Of course it’s _environmental_ , Sam. We live in an ‘urban environment’,” and yeah, Dean made those finger quotes like a boss, “which might be the only thing I’ve learnt in this stupid class and - _ow_!”

Rubbing his head, Dean glared at his brother.

“That hurt!”

Hands on hips, Sam glared. “This is important, Dean! Cities are the biggest users of resources, and we give nothing back! If we can’t find a way of… of… of _coexisting_ , no! More than that, of giving back, wait, I already said that. We have to do something different! and if we can't, then-“ 

Dean ruffled Sam’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know you’re going to grow up to be an environmental crusader. I’ll need a job, Sammy, so I can keep bailing you out.”

Dean chuckled, but Sam looked at him seriously.

“I’m gonna be a lawyer, Dean. I mean you’re right, we always need people who are willing to stand up for what’s right, but…” He trailed off and looked down. Taking a deep breath, he looked Dean straight in the eye. “I’m gonna be a lawyer, Dean. I’m gonna do _pro bono_ work and take down those evil corporations that are destroying the world, and then-“ 

Dean just settled back and listened to his brother. By the time Sam ran out of breath, he looked half scared, half hopeful. Well, Dean was never going to squash his little brother’s dreams. And the brat was stubborn enough to do it too.

“Look forward to seeing you save the world, Sammy.”

And really? He did.

But he still didn’t have a project...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks to tricksterangelgabriel for the beta!

[](https://imgur.com/6gCYSWD)

“Did you know that the oceans make more oxygen than the trees? That’s fucking unreal.”

Apparently algae did it. And phytoplankton. Whatever the fuck that was.

Ugh. He was reading a magazine. Something in hard copy. Who the hell did that anymore? Why was Sam making him look through _books_. Everyone knew the real info was online. Dean threw the National Geographic across the table. It hit Sam’s glass, spilling water. It was kinda interesting the way the droplets moved. Hey… maybe he could do something about water? Grabbing his phone so he could do _proper_ search using modern shit, Dean punched _water facts_ into the search engine.

It took less than 0.38 seconds (according to the helpful counter at the top of the page) for Dean’s mind to start to wonder. Because fish were pretty cool. They were watery. Tasty even. Stomach growling, Dean chewed his lip. Maybe he could make tuna melts for dinner. Sammy liked those and-

“Holy crap! Lobsters and jellyfish are basically immortal!” Tilting his head, Dean stared at his screen. Could he work a few extra hours and buy Sammy some lobster? Even if it didn’t make him immortal, maybe it would help his brain?

Dean looked up as a heavy book slammed against the table. Sam glared at him, lips twisted and eyes narrowed. He was pretty pissed off.

“Sammy? Did you want someth-” 

“Are you even taking this seriously?” Sam’s voice - which started loud - was practically a shout by the end. “This is important! This is your career! No. Dean Winchester, this is your _life_ , and all you are doing is... “ Sam threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t even know what you’re doing!”

“I’m looking for inspiration!” Did Dean sound defensive? He definitely felt defensive.

Taking a deep breath, Sam ran a hand through his hair. Whatever else he was about to say was interrupted by a knock at the door, quickly followed by the slam as it shut.

“Okay so I have a few ideas but don’t worry if you don’t like them, because I have plenty more.”

Cas’ disembodied voice was soon joined by his actual body. His arms were piled high with a stack of books that rivaled Sammy’s. Chuckling silently to himself, Dean got up to relieve Cas of some of his load. Nerds, the both of them, Dean thought fondly.

A beaming smile greeting Dean as Cas’ face was exposed. Behind him, Sam sighed dramatically.

“Thank god you’re here, Cas. Dean wasn’t taking this seriously at all! I don’t know how to get him to pass if-”

“That’s not fair!” Dean indignantly interrupted. “I was thinking of the links between, uh, urban water usage and the rural landscape, and-”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Dean!” Cas was all enthusiasm. “Did you know that the concrete jungles that we have created are nothing but terrible for the environment? Not only are cities hotter than the surrounding rural areas, when it rains the water hits concrete, and runs off, but it means we don’t get it absorbed into the ground water, or filtered, or-”

“And agricultural water usage has its own issues!” Sam piped up. “You could maybe compare and contrast water issues in urban and regional environments?”

“That’s a brilliant idea, Sam. And you are right.”

Cas put his lecturing voice on. It could rival Crowley’s for boring, Dean thought uncharitably.

“Agricultural water use is a huge issue, not just in terms of volume, but the pollutant and particulate run off. And it’s directly related to the _urban environment_ ,” Cas was not subtle as he stressed the words, “That it’s really an urban issue too. You wouldn’t think it, but agriculture uses about 70% of the freshwater worldwide.” 

“You know what else is wide? Your eyes,” Dean grumped at the two of them. Just his luck to be supported by two environmental know-it-all-nerds. Dean had thought his complaint was quiet. It wasn’t quiet. Dean’s face flushed as two pairs of wide eyes turned on him. Cas’ were surprised while Sam’s were judgemental.

Dean chose to make eye contact with Cas.

“Look, I’m sorry, Cas. I know you’re trying to help, and I appreciate it. It’s just all so much! Water issues, soil issues, food security… I don’t even know where to start!” 

Dramatically Dean threw himself back against his chair.

“It’s all just buzzing round in my head, and I don’t know what to do!”

Thinking, or perhaps hoping, that that would be the end of that, Dean was unprepared for Cas’ whole face to light up.

“Of course! We’ve been going about this the wrong way! Issues like soil and water are too big, what you want is an important issue, but something… something that we can do something about.”

Cas sprung up and started pacing, his exciting too much to contain.

“Don’t you see, Dean! You came up with the idea. Ideas were _buzzing_ around in your head…”

Cas trailed off, obviously waiting for Dean to get with the picture. Dean just blinked, refusing to play the game. Sighing dramatically, Cas threw his arms out.

“And what buzzes?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! I know!”

Sam, the little nerd, was so excited he was hopping up and down on his seat. Dean refused to be moved. Crossing his arms, Dean leant back in his seat.

“Bees! It’s bees!”

Cas and Sam exchanged big smiles, but Dean just shook his head. He couldn’t see how that would work, and even it could… Dean would need a lot of help. And that meant Sam _and_ Cas. And he wasn’t worth it. He had to save Cas from himself.

“Bees? What the fuck? What has that got to do with anything? It’s fucking stupid! I have to link urban and regional shit, and bees? Bees are nothing! If that’s the best you’ve got, I’m better off doing it alone.”

The twin smiles dropped, and yeah, Dean felt a little guilty. But not much. He was doing this for Cas.

Taking a deep breath, Cas stood.

“I can see where I am not wanted. Sam? I will see you later.”

And he left. Before he could even process that (and why exactly was it hurting?), Sam was in his face. And pissed.

“What the actual _fuck_ , Dean? What the fuck? He was just trying to help! All he does is be nice to you, and you treat him like absolute crap and-”

Sam fell silent, and his brow furrowed. Then something clicked into place.

“You’re failing.”

Dean winced. Sam might only be 16, but his voice held as much disapproval as a let down grandma.

“Yeah, look Sam, I know I’m not smart, and not worth-”

Dean didn’t get another word out before Sam tackled him. Caught totally unprepared, Dean staggered and both boys hit the floor, Dean’s head landing with an almighty _thump_. Dean lay there stunned, the breath knocked out of him even as Sam grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

“Don’t say that! Don’t you dare say that! You are the smartest, most amazing, most bravest and most strong and-”

It took a while for Sam to run out of words, but by the time he did, his eyes were swollen shut and his nose was streaming. Dean patted him awkwardly on the back, and somehow the kid managed to bitchface him (how? It’s all in the eyes, and Sammy couldn’t open his eyes!), and then wiped his nose on Dean’s shirt.

Disgusting.

Dean would overlook it this once. Instead, of clocking the brat, Dean’s arms came round his little brother, and he held him close.

“I’m sorry I let you down, Sam.”

The words were barely murmured, but Sam still punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow! That hurt!”

Instead of responding, Sam pushed himself up, and marched out of the room. Dean watched him go before sitting up gingerly, rubbing his head and shoulder. Both hurt like a bitch. The floor was hard, and Sam was strong. Before he could force himself to his feet, Sam was marching back into the room, mouth set in a stubborn line. Christ! What did Dean have to deal with now?

_Contemporary Urban Design._

The words swam before his eyes, and frozen, Dean could only stare at the bloody paper in Sam’s hand. Christ, there was more blood than he remembered. 

‘I know why you failed Dean, and it’s not your fault! The only mistake you made was not saying something sooner. To anyone! And now that I know that you know that I know-”

“The fuck, Sam? What does that even mean?”

“-we can deal with this.”

The silence was so loud, it was deafening. Dean looked up at Sam from under his lashes, and all he could see was grim determination. No judgement. No pity. No loathing. And against his will, Dean felt warmth blossom in his chest. His brother was on his side.

Dean’s face must have shown something, because Sam started talking again.

“So you have to take this seriously. And pass. And also apologize to Cas.”

Rolling his eyes, Dean held out a hand and allowed Sam to haul him to his feet. Dusting off his ass, he paused when Sam continued.

“Also, I’ve been working too, and I’ve saved up enough so that you can have the next three weeks off and-”

Dean’s head whipped around.

“You’ve been _what_?”

Sam’s mouth just tightened.

“Sam, your education is fuckin’ important, man, and-”

“It’s just as important as yours! And I don’t work a full time job in the middle of the night, and then have to come back and deal with _dad_ ,” and okay there was the loathing Dean had expected earlier. Sam looked him in the eyes. “I know what you’ve been trying to hide from me, Dean. And you don’t have to. I know. Let me help you, like you always help me.”

There was a challenge in Sam’s voice. As well as thread of uncertainty. Fuck! What was he supposed to do? Closing his eyes, he listened to his common sense (which, weirdly, sounded an awful lot like Cas), and nodded.

“Okay, Sam. Okay. I’ve got three weeks to get this make-up paper done.” But then again, it was only 5000 words, so surely he could just work-

“No! You can work when you’re done, and not a second before.”

Fucking mind readers. He was surrounded by them. Speaking of mind readers, Sam was right. He really should go and apologize to Cas.

“Bees, huh?”

Now that the idea had time to fly around his head, it seemed a bit more sensible. Maybe? Okay, Dean couldn’t quite see what Cas meant, but hell, he was sure you could design a city that was cool for the bees. It might be harder for something like, say, an elephant. But bees were pretty small. And did something on farms? 

Right. He’d get some info under his belt, show how serious he was, and then he’d go beg forgiveness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think Dean should look into the bees? Is that a good idea for a school assignment?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks to braezenkitty and hexmaniachoco for reading over <3 they made it so much better and any remaining mistakes are my own

Stretching his arms high above his head, Dean felt his back crack. A glance at the clock revealed it to be 8.53pm.

“Really? Three hours?”

The time had flown by. Dean had never studied for that long in his life. Not that he ever had three spare hours in a row to do _anything_ , let alone study. Every moment was accounted for, and none of them were spare - school was school after all and he had to go - but when he wasn’t in class or working or cooking for the family or picking his dad up off the floor… well, that didn’t leave much time for anything, not even sleeping. Life was crazy. And now having time to do actual school work was even crazier.

But, despite his discomfort, Dean did what he always did and committed himself one hundred percent. When he sat down it was with a serious frame of mind. He’d gotten his homework snacks, and homework drinks, and even turned off his phone… ok, he hadn’t really, but it was a legitimate research tool. He did put it on silent. And it was fine to have his phone on, because he wasn’t going to get distracted, not at all. Not even if his _Neko Atsume_ cats needed feeding. And definitely not see if he’s boss had offered him more shifts. Not even to see if… Okay, so he might have checked a few things, but that was cool, because he was 110% on board with this… bee thingy.

He owed it to Sam. He owed it to Cas. He even owed it to himself.

The thing he found out though? He owed it to the bees.

Yes, he, Dean Winchester was wrong. Completely wrong. Bees were important little fuckers. Without bees he wouldn’t have his drinks. He wouldn’t have his snacks. He definitely wouldn’t have that healthy shit to feed Sam. He wouldn’t even have his expensive moisturiser that he hid in the back of the cupboard so no one would ever find it.

Bees were fucking important. Before he knew it, he had a list three pages long (and referenced!) about why bees were important. But would it be enough? Could his make-up assignment just be a list? Would Crowley actually accept a list 5000 words long waxing lyrical on the importance of bees? Shit, he really had to go look at the rubric.

After he apologized to Cas.

Heaving a sigh, Dean rested his head on his hands. He’d been a dick. A big, veiny dick. No, a _bag_ of big, veiny dicks. The biggest, juiciest… Shaking his head, Dean dislodged that image. He couldn't be thinking of dicks. He had to think of Cas.

 _Cas_.

Like a bee, the word flew into his mind and buzzed around.

Dammit. He’d get no rest until he went over and apologized. Maybe he could win Cas over with the hard-earned labours of his study and wow him with his new-found facts about bees.

Ah whatever. Cas probably knew everything anyway. Still. Maybe it would help?

[](https://imgur.com/66o0g2e)

~o~

“Bees have five eyes, man. Five eyes. That’s a lot. It’s a weird amount to be honest.”

That was the first thing out of Dean’s mouth? Not _hello, Cas_ , or _I’m sorry, Cas_ , but bees have five eyes?

“Yes, Dean. But only three of them are normal. Two are called compound eyes, and are made up of thousands of little lenses.”

Dean’s mouth dropped open, before he closed it and straightened his back and stared at Castiel like he’d issued a challenge. As if Dean knew more about bees than Cas.

Which totally wasn’t the point.

“Bees… Bees have actually been around for millions of years.”

Castiel’s eyes lit up. “Yes! And isn’t it fascinating – new evidence suggests they were around long before flowering plants. That means that they may have been responsible for the rapid spreading of angiosperms – that’s flowering plants, Dean – and also that maybe they survived on earlier woodier plants. Can you imagine bees buzzing around ferns and conifers?”

For a moment Castiel’s enthusiasm overtook him. But then he remembered he was pissed at Dean, and scowled. Sure, Dean deserved the temper, and yes, he should apologize, but instead Dean narrowed his eyes in return.

“And they dance to tell each other where the pollen is? Did you know that, Cas? Huh?”

~o~ 

Shaking his head, Castiel had to wonder about his friend. People told him that his “people skills” were “rusty”, but he didn’t come to pick a fight when he should be saying sorry. He didn’t create situations where he had to apologize, and he certainly didn’t pick fights! Especially a fight that he was going to lose.

Dean seemed to realise his mistake and flushed pink under Castiel’s gaze, and that was when something clicked into place: Dean was pink because he was _embarrassed_. Dean, who Cas sometimes wondered if he knew what shame was, was embarrassed. But Dean was nothing if not stubborn and pushed on with his interesting bee facts.

“They… they move the pollen around so that the plants can grow, and holy shit, did you know that bees pollinate more than 70% of the crops we eat? All sorts of plants! Flowers, and trees, and grasses, and... “ Dean trailed off. “Wait you already said that. Sorry, Cas. Of course you knew that.”

If he hadn’t been so pissed, Castiel would have laughed, because what kind of an apology was that? A terrible one. Simply terrible. It wasn’t even an apology. But. Even if he was still pissed off at Dean, he couldn’t help but notice how cute and pink he was.

“But did you know, if we didn’t have bees, I wouldn’t be able to take you out to dinner?”

Castiel blinked.

Then he blinked again.

He did sometimes miss social cues, but was Dean actually asking him out on a date? It was… very unclear (although not unwelcome or even that unexpected. Best friends to lovers, happened all the time, right?, and if he was, his timing was tragic. Castiel was still mad. Very mad. And confused.

“I like the way your freckles look when you blush.”

Apparently, Dean wasn’t the only one with foot in mouth disease. Cas totally hadn’t meant to say that. But the response was delightful – somehow Dean went even redder. It was a good look.

“The fuck? The fuck, Cas? I’m trying to apologise here, and then you-”

Dean reacted with a fury that pushed all of Castiel’s buttons. Drawing himself up to his full height, he squinted menacingly at Dean.

“Oh, forgive me. Is _that_ what you are trying to do? Because you turn up on my doorstep and yell bee facts at me. The only time “sorry” passed your lips was when you thought I might know that fact, and for the record, Dean? I did know that fact. I know a lot of bee facts. And do you know why? Because bees, Dean, are amazing. Without them we wouldn’t even _exist_. At least,” Cas added, because even though he was pissed off, he couldn’t be inaccurate, “At least not in the same way we live now. While other insects can be important for pollination, and that even includes animals such as humans, bees are the most effective. And somehow, just the fact that a bee pollinates increases the yield! Because of bees, yields are higher, more nutrient dense, and hardier. And bees pollinate coffee, something I am incredibly grateful for and without them we wouldn’t have almonds and bees can even reverse their brain aging…”

Drawing a deep breath, Castiel realised he had gone off topic. It wasn’t his fault that bees were amazing, but he could definitely stop talking about them. Now if only Dean would say why he was actually here…

Dean stared at the ground, the tips of his ears shiny red beacons.

“I really am sorry, Cas. I was way outta line.”

Dean’s voice was quiet, but Castiel could hear the sincerity. 

“I… I reacted poorly. You and Sammy both have my back and I shoulda remembered that, that you are always gonna help me. Even if I’m not so good at helping myself.

Cas nodded. That was unsurprising. Dean had terrible self image. And when he was stressed it was worse. It didn’t make the actions ok, but Cas understood.

“I accept your apology, Dean. And you are right. I will always be there for you, _always_. I just don’t understand why you couldn’t have said that at the start, instead of trying to pick a fight with me?”

“I wasn’t trying to pick a fight,” Dean was quick to respond. “I was just… I just wanted to show you how serious I took that shit. I mean, I shut you down pretty quick and I coulda – shoulda – done that much nicer. But Sammy gave me an earful and he was right, and as it turned out…” Dean paused as he rubbed the back of his neck. “As it turned out you were right. Bees are pretty kickass. I just wish I could see a better link between bees and urban design.”

Castiel forgave Dean then and there. Apparently Dean and bees combined were his kryptonite.

“Oh I think I can help you with that. Meet me tomorrow at 6am. We’re going on a field trip.” 

Didn’t mean he couldn’t exact a little revenge though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that the number of chapters has increased from 4 to 7 - don't worry I still hope to get this finished as soon as possible, and you won't bee-lieve what happens. (Or then again, maybe you will.)
> 
> Are you more a Dean or Cas when it comes to the depth of your bee knowledge?
> 
>  
> 
> if you wanna chat I am on [tumble](https://spnscience.tumblr.com/tumblr) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ScienceSpn)  
> if you want to promote this fic, you can find this chapter on [tumblr](https://spnscience.tumblr.com/post/177268796127/spnscience-title-talking-bout-the-bees-not) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ScienceSpn/status/1040810086212358146)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks to cassasaurusrex for the beta!

Dean was not a morning person. Not at all. He only ever saw 6am from the other side. This bright, early, time was annoying as fuck. 

“Hello, Dean. I see you are looking sharp this morning.” 

Dean waved his middle finger in Cas’ direction. At least he thought he did. He didn’t quite have control of his body yet. From the way Cas’ shoulders shook, he got the damn idea. 

“Here.” 

A cup of coffee was thrust in Dean’s face. 

“Drink this and wake up. Our first destination is about 30 minutes away, so I can drive and you can…

“Woah woah woah woah.” That woke Dean up. “ _You_ will drive? You’ll drive what? Your piece of shit plastic car? I don’t think-” 

“It’s a Prius, Dean.” Cas’ voice was patient. They’d had this conversation before. “It is a safe, well maintained car, and as a hybrid better for the environment. Actually, I thought that would be important to you,” and now Dean could hear the amusement in his friends voice. “Cars are a major contributor to air pollution and climate change. And as our climate changes, it affects other things, like plant communities, the very communities that bees need to thrive and survive, and even more directly! Bees hives need to be kept at a stable 92F.” 

Dean wavered. But only momentarily. Baby was a fuel hog, and he didn’t often get to drive for fun. And a day out to the country, with Cas? Sounded fucking awesome. 

~o~ 

Cranking the tunes up, Dean wound down the window, revved the engine, and drove off into the sunrise. 

“These seems the opposite of right,” he shouted at Cas, even though he was totally enjoying the sunrise.

And then Cas glaring at him improved his mood. Yeah, it was nice to get under his skin for once. ( _For once?_ his conscience sneered at him. _You do nothing but upset this paragon of virtue, this angel of the bees._

And now he felt guilty. Turning down the music, he resolutely did not send Cas an apologetic look. He’d done enough apologising for a decade yesterday. 

“Please turn right, Dean.” 

Taking the corner in a smooth curve, Dean braked hard. The road ahead was rubble. Huge rocks jutted up along the… well it could barely be called a road. The car path?

“Oh for the love of - Dean, it’s a slightly rough road. This wouldn’t even be considered off-road. Just take it slowly. The farmhouse is less than two miles away…”

As he didn’t want to walk two miles or leave Baby down here alone, he had no choice.

“I’m sorry, Baby,” he told her, as they drove at an extremely sedate pace. “You weren’t meant for this life. You were meant for the open roads, to feel the wind in your hair…” 

Beside him, Castiel snorted. “Could you be any more dramatic? Ah! Turn up there, where the sign is.”

‘The sign’ was a massive bee. 

“Cain’s Clover Field’s,” Dean read, even as he obediently entered the parking lot. Pulling up, he saw a little farmhouse with a menu out the front. 

“It’s a fucking store! Is that needlepoint in the window?” 

It was indeed needle point in the window. A bee hovering over a cup of tea. Of course Cas would like this place. 

“A teahouse,” Cas corrected him. 

“Which isn’t open yet, Cas.” 

This didn’t stop to matter to Cas: seeing something on the step, he marched over before stuffing something in his pocket. 

“We’re not here for the food. We’re here to see - ah. Cain!” 

Cas waved wildly at an older man striding through the fields of, what Dean assumed, was clover. 

“A pleasure to see you, Castiel.” 

The man had a smile in his voice and Cas smiled his big gummy smile in return. Slowly Dean made his way from Baby to the duo, taking his time to check out the bee farmer. 

To be honest, he didn’t look much like a farmer. He was smooth and debonair, with a magnificent head of hair. Sam would be jealous of the natural wave, Dean thought with a snigger. Cas elbowed him. 

“Cain, thank you for seeing us today. We really appreciate it.” 

“It’s no trouble, Castiel. I’m always pleased to see you. And any friend of yours, of course.”

The man, Cain, nodded to Dean. Up close his voice was even more magnificent. 

“I haven’t checked the closest hives yet, so if you’d like to come with me.”

It wasn’t a question, and Cain strode off before Dean, or Cas, had time to respond. Not that it seemed to bother Cas. He just trailed along afterwards before he turned to call back to Dean. 

“Come along, Dean! The hives aren’t too far. Come and start learning about the bees!”

~o~ 

To Dean’s disappointment, although Cain collected honey, he wouldn’t let Dean taste any. 

“Not yet,” he was informed with a smile. 

At least the delicious smelling honey was in his future. Probably.

“Castiel tells me your project is on urban bee management, although this technically isn’t urban beekeeping,”Cain informed him. “I’m more of a hobbyist, and I work outside the city limits. In the city, however, there are some wonderfully innovative apiaries-”

“Apri-whats?” 

“Apiaries,” Cain repeated. “You can think of them as bee yard, if you like, where you keep the hives. Mine are the more traditional shape,” Cain gestured to a whole bunch of boxes spread out under the trees. “But now people are keeping bees _in_ the city and the hives are much more interesting. 

“Yeah, well, not in Lawrence.” 

“There are definitely apiaries in Lawrence, Dean.” Cas was quick to correct him. “I have visited many of them myself.”

“Oh?” Cain raised a questioning brow at Castiel. “And what do you think?

Cas took a moment to gather his thoughts. Nerd, Dean couldn’t help thinking fondly. It was something he loved about Cas.

“They are even more hobby scale than you, although I do not consider that a problem. Most of them are in rooftop gardens, which is why the uninitiated, such as Dean, do not know they are there. But because of them…” Cas’ voice trailed off, but then he turned his glowing eyes on Cain. “There has been an upswing in the bee gardens in the city! And I saw another bee hotal in the park on Main Street! The way they have jumped up everywhere is simply amazing. And of course the uninitiated, like Dean-” 

That was getting to be very annoying. 

“-wouldn’t even notice anything different. Maybe that the city council had put in more gardens, or that the hotels look like art installations… but Cain! It’s completely beautiful! And they actually listened! It’s now a bee smorgasboard, and the plants chosen mean there is food _all year round_.”

Dean could see the fanatical gleam in Cas’ eye, so he politely interrupted. “Is that any good for your bees? I mean how far is town? Thirty miles? Could a bee could actually travel that far?” 

But would they? Bees were tiny, and that would be pretty tiring.

Both Cas and Cain laughed. But it wasn’t a mocking laugh. It was happy, and Dean found himself smiling along. 

“Bees stick within about five miles of their hives,” Cain told him. “It’s why I’ve put my hives in the middle of these fields.” 

“Is there something special about clover?” 

“All flowers give the honey a distinctive taste. I happen to like the taste of clover honey, so when I had the opportunity to tend to my bees, well, I jumped at the chance. As you can see, there is mainly clover here. That is so my bees don’t have a choice, and I get the honey I want.” Cain shrugged and stared out at the clover meadow. 

If Dean was being honest, it was all very calm and relaxing, watching the bees hovering over the blooming clovers. It was way too chick flick for Dean Winchester. Time for a manly topic change.

“So, do you sell your honey?” 

“Hmmm?” Cain turned his eyes back on Dean. “Oh yes. While this is a hobby farm, I do try to make, if not a profit, pocket money. I go to the farmers market, which is where I met young Castiel.” 

Of course, Dean thought, smirking to himself. Of course that’s where they met. 

“Well of course,” Castiel said, repeating Dean’s thoughts. “I believe in supporting local industry. And this helps me minimise my food miles. Also important. Americans consume more honey that the American honeybees create. So we import. Personally, I believe we should just eat less honey.” 

That was to Dean. Cain, apparently, had heard it all before. 

“Anyway, come in for some toast, boys. I’m sure you’ve got a busy morning ahead of you.” 

~o~ 

“That honey was delicious,” Dean informed Cas, as if Cas didn’t know. 

Instead of getting offended, Cas just smiled his gummy smile. 

“There is something special about local honey. In this case, I know Cain raises his bees ethically.”

“Ethically? Like free range bees? Gonna have to start checking out the stocking rates on the honey jars,” Dean teased. 

Cas didn’t deign to answer, but Dean whistled _Sugar Sugar_ the whole way into town. 

~o~ 

Dean would never look at public gardens the same again. 

While it was true they were perhaps more _floral_ and _prettier_ than he remembered, there was actual planning that had gone into them. 

“You’ll notice a lot of the same flowers in the gardens: alliums, mint, fennel. And these daisy-like flowers. None of these are hybrids - they are often sterile, so there’s no point in planting them. No point for the bees at least. I _suppose_ they have aesthetic value.” Cas’ sniff indicated what he thought of _that_. “And of course you will see a lot of single blooms here. The doubles just aren’t as good for bees. Oh! And they like tall ones too! See that, that’s a larkspur.” 

Cas pointed at a plant that looked like all the other plants. 

“Yes, Dean. I can see you rolling your eyes. When they’re in bloom they will look very different. They’re planted in patches you see. Bees like to ‘hang’ around the same flowers.” 

Try as he might, Dean couldn’t muffle his laughter. Cas and the finger quotes was too fuckin’ cute. When Cas looked up to glare at him, Dean smiled encouragingly.

“And of course the promenade trees. Now, it was just luck that these ones here are good for bees, but city councils are getting better about thinking in a more connected way. Remember how bee pollination increases yield? Well imagine if we had inner cities filled with trees that bore fruit! Not only does it help the bees, it could help the poor and the homeless populations.” Cas looked at the ground then, and grinned his gummy grin. “Of course it helps that there are concerned citizens who have researched and presented design plans that are still in keeping with the municipal rules and regulations.” 

Laughing, Dean agreed. That sounded like something Sammy would do. He was a bleeding heart as well, who planned to destroy the system from the inside. More power to his anarchists. 

“Of course honey bees aren’t the only important bees. The others are still important as pollinator, and-” 

“Excuse me? What? I thought bees were bees!” 

Cas looked smug. “Oh dear, Dean. Your bee facts, interesting as they were, are lacking. Honeybees aren’t even the majority of bees! Although they are very well looked after. Other bees are still important for pollination. And many are solitary…”

Cas grabbed Dean’s hand and lead him towards a wooden art thing. Made out of wood, it was quite striking. And very near the flowers. And…

“This is a bee hotel?” 

Cas whirled on him. “How in the world did you know that.” 

“Just one of my lacking bee facts, Cas.” Dean smirked at his friend. Then let him out of his misery. “Cain mentioned them before. To be honest I didn’t think anything of it, cos how fucking weird is that? A bee hotel? Like, the just drop in for a night or two, then buzz off?" 

[](https://imgur.com/G9sGM9t)

Of course bees weren’t like that. They made their permanent homes there. And volunteers like Cas had to look them over so that they didn’t kill all the residents. 

“We have of course removed many of the bee homes, through clearing and development. And even though we’ve made them these homes, they can easily become overrun by wasps or parasites. And not only that! But the way you design it influences who moves in. For example, if you make the holes too narrow, you get all male bees moving in, as the females are, uh, wider.

“Fat bottomed bees you make the rockin’ world go round?” 

Cas didn’t think he was funny. 

“You see bee populations world wide are dropping - for a lot of reasons. Pesticides, climate change, lack of habitat,” Castiel listed off on his fingers. “Fixing these problems is _huge_. And unfortunately we need the government to take the lead, to enforce change. And they are failing on more than one front. Climate change springs to mind.” 

Cas looked furious for a moment and Dean didn’t blame him. Humans were selfish asses. But there were also selfless people like Cas, making changes. Looking around him, at the flowers and the bees and his passionate friend, Dean knew exactly what he was going to write this paper on. He had this in the bag: it was going to be great and he wasn’t nervous at all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n Only two important things happen this chapter. One of them is sex. Skip to the end notes (or read the first section) if you want to know the other thing
> 
> Many thanks to both ambersagen and disizletzi for the beta!

Dean was nervous. He was really fucking nervous. He’d been on tenterhooks since he handed the paper in, and now after weeks of waiting the professor was ready to see him. Dean wiped his hands on his jeans. Sweaty palms. Was that a sign of impending death?

“Mr. Winchester, how nice to see you. Please, come in.” 

Schooling his face into one of what he hoped was polite interest, Dean entered Crowley’s domain. 

Dean waited patiently while Crowley sorted through the papers on his desk. He kept waiting patiently while Crowley opened every fucking drawer, and still didn’t find what he was looking for. He even waited patiently while Crowley opened his briefcase and pulled out a single white sheet of paper.

Finally, the professor looked at him. 

“I had my doubts, Mr. Winchester, I had my doubts. Although you are an academically gifted student, I wasn’t seeing any evidence that you were applying yourself.” 

Steepling his fingers, Crowley regarding him quietly. Dean did his best to meet that stare with strength and humility, but failed miserably, instead looking at the floor and shuffling uncomfortably. 

“Despite my well justified doubts, you have proved me wrong, Mr. Winchester. This is a very well researched paper. A unique topic that does indeed bridge the urban and agricultural divide. I particularly liked the city map, showing where the current bee gardens are, and the potential areas to plant more. It shows forethought and initiative.” 

Inside his head, Dean was hurrying Crowley along. He knew what the damn paper was on! He wrote it! And though it was nice hearing how he hadn’t fucked up, he just wanted to know if he passed the damn thing.

Professor Crowley removed his glasses, and polished them slowly. Dean practically died from stress. 

“This extra credit assignment was intended to bring you to a point where you could pass. The original was worth 40 points, and as I can tell you are nervous, and I won’t keep you in suspense. This is an excellent piece of work. And I am giving you 20…” 

Crowley kept talking, but Dean’s brain stopped. Twenty… twenty was… twenty was good! Twenty was a pass. Twenty meant that even if he bombed the exam he could still fucking pass! Dean was so excited he could have kissed Crowley.

“Sir, thank you! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this!” 

Dean was in Crowley’s space, both of the professors hands clasped in his. Crowley looked so disturbed Dean was grateful he hadn’t gone in for a kiss. Still, he pumped Crowley’s hands a few times, too excited too let go. 

“I… just… just thank you, sir. Thank you!” 

Hopefully Crowley didn’t have anything else to say, because as soon as Dean dropped the professors hands, he grabbed his bag, and was out of there. And if out of the corner of his eye he saw Crowley with a sneer on his face and a handkerchief in his hands… well who cares. He passed!

~o~ 

Dean was half way down the quad before he slowed to a jog. Where was he even going at such a speed?

 _Cas_.

Of course! He had to tell Cas! He’d share it with Sammy too. Later. When he wasn’t in class. Shit. Was Cas in class? Where would he find him? 

_Think logically, Winchester,_ he snapped at himself. 

If Cas wasn’t in class, where would he be? Dean’s feet directed him towards the library. 

~o~ 

“Cas? Cas, where are you, man?” 

Dean was back at the catalogue computers. Craning his neck, he couldn’t see the messy mop of hair anywhere. 

“Cas? Where are-” 

“ _Shhhhhhhh_.” 

Turning around, Dean was face to face with a demon: his eyebrows were arched and his eyes were black. And the teeth looked like they could tear out his throat. Some of those scary teeth were covered by the finger they held up to their lips.  
“This is a _library_.”

They also had that librarian skill where they could yell and whisper at the same time. 

Dean offered an apologetic look and tried to whisper his own reply. “I’m sorry. I’m just looking for my friend. We…” shit. What did people do in the library? It wasn’t like people came here to celebrate, and the librarian looked five seconds away from kicking him out. Dean looked around and inspiration struck. 

“I’m just here for a study session with my classmate.”

The librarian stared at him and Dean worried. Did he sound like he was lying? I mean, sure he was, but he had things to do, things in the library and-

“Then I suggest you find your classmate and study _quietly_.” 

With that, the librarian turned on their heel, leaving a chastened Dean behind them. 

~o~ 

The library had a map, and according to the map, the third floor held study rooms, and at one end were the group study rooms. Knocking on each one - quietly - he opened the door, and when no Cas appeared he apologised and backed out. He had the quiet voice down pat now. Sammy would be proud. 

That was, until the last study room. 

“Excuse me is - Cas! Cas, you won’t believe-”

“ _Shhhhhhhhhh_!” 

Stumbling back, Dean accidentally slammed the door shut, and the entire room hissed at him. One of them - Kevin? The short kid with dark hair - was clicking and unclicking his pen in an ominous manner. While the red head with sharp nails was tapping then on the desk. And then there was the blank faced blonde. Why did the blank face look so scary?

At least Cas wasn’t threatening. No, the asshole was enjoying Dean’s discomfort, although he attempted to look serious when his study group looked at him. 

“Dean and I will go and have a... private chat, so we don’t disturb you further. I’ll be back soon.” Cas told his classmates. 

The blonde just waved his hand. “We’ve almost finished, Castiel. I wouldn’t hurry back.”

“What’s that dude’s problem?” Dean asked as Cas dragged him off to a Personal Study room. As Cas closed the door, Dean looked around. It actually looked exactly like the group study room, just smaller, with less desks. Oh yeah. That made sense.

“Gadreel dislikes interruptions. Although he has a valid point. We are almost finished, and they can easily send me what I need. But I am sure you didn’t come to ask me about my class work?” 

Castiel rested his ass against the table, crossing his arms and encouraging Dean with a sexy squint. Wait, what? How was that sexy? 

“Dean?” 

“Oh. Yeah. I saw Crowley!” Dean paused, trying to figure out the best way to explain. Ah fuck it, straight to the point was good enough. “I did it! I passed! Well, just passed,” Dean clarified. “Crowley gave me 20, which is good enough, because I’m not worried at all about the exam, and then it’ll be over and then I am free!” 

It was natural to launch himself at Cas. Natural to be pulled in for a hug. And natural to let his lips find Cas’ slightly chapped ones. And Dean’s kisses were never G-rated, so it was even natural to let his tongue caress the soft, shocked ‘o’ that Cas’ mouth had become. 

Then Cas’ mouth slammed shut and Dean’s questing tongue paused. 

Because fuck. 

Fuck! 

He’d just leapt onto his best friend with _no warning_ and Cas probably didn’t even want that from him, and now he’d fucked up everything and- 

Despite his desperate wiggles to escape, Dean hadn’t gone far. Which was lucky, because Cas’ arms reached out and pulled Dean back against his chest. Wide eyed, Dean looked up. Cas’ eyes were dark and hooded.

“Fuck! I’m sorry, Cas. That was… I shouldn’t have done that. I mean I’ve _wanted_ to do that for ages, but I should have _asked_ you and-” 

Dean’s words were cut off as Cas hauled him in and just plundered his mouth. Where as Dean had been tentative, Cas was all teeth and tongue - and Dean may have swooned just a little bit. 

When Cas finally released him, Dean pawed weakly at Cas’ shoulder. 

“What the fuck, man? Where’d you learn to kiss like that?”

Cas looked incredibly smug. Dean really wanted to wipe that look off his face… and he knew just the way to do it. Casually, Dean pressed himself between Cas’ legs, subtly rubbing against his crotch. And - aw yeah! Cas was definitely interested. Running his hands up Cas’ thighs, Dean brushed against Cas’ hardening cock until Cas - spoilsport that he was - reached out and grabbed Dean’s hand. 

“Dean. Stop.” 

It was a warning. A sexy warning. Dean ignored it, nipping at Castiel’s lower lip. 

“Do you really want to stop, Cas? ‘Cos I can think of something else we could do…” 

Gracefully he fell to his knees in front of Cas. Then tried to hide his fist pump, because fuck yeah! How cool was he? Sexy, seductive, and able to drop to his knees like a pro. After congratulating himself, he looked up at Cas from under his eyelashes.

“You know, Cas, I’m very grateful for all your help, and there's something I’d love to do for you…” 

Dean was going for sultry, but if Cas’ horrified expression was anything to go by, it was a complete and utter fail. Sitting back on his knees, Dean looked up at his friend. Cas was pale and distressed

“Dean-” Cas’ paused, his throat working hard as he tried to speak. “I… Dean, l would never-” 

Dean was frowning now. Cas would never what? Never want a blowjob? Ohhhhh. Maybe he didn’t know that was on the table. Dean thought kneeling in front of Cas’ dick was pretty obvious, but Cas could be a bit thick. 

“Cas, I wanna blow you.” 

“Dean.” The words were strangled. “You are my best friend. There were no strings. I would always, always help and you don’t have to, to feel _obligated_ -” 

What the fuck was Cas’ problem? Of course Dean didn’t have to suck Cas’ dick. He wanted to. Well, probably. Maybe after he saw it, if it was hideous he’d change his mind. But seriously- Dean’s mental rant was cut off as it clicked into place. 

“Oh, fuck no!” 

Castiel’s expression wavered between resigned and relieved. And Dean was _pissed_. The fucker thought Dean felt obligated? What the hell? Dean Winchester did whatever the hell he wanted! As long as the other person wanted it too.

Heaving himself up (and that was about a billion times less graceful then going down), he leaned into Cas’ space. When his lips were a hair's breadth away, Dean spoke clearly. 

“My name is Dean Winchester. I’m an aquarius, I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach and frisky men and women. I’ve been wanted to suck your dick for ages, and you helping me with my paper had nothing to do with it. Now, Cas. Can I please suck your dick?” 

For a moment, Cas looked like he swallowed a lemon. Then his face cleared and that big gummy smile that Dean loved so much appeared. 

“If that’s what you want to do, Dean, then-” 

Dean didn’t even give him time to finish. His fingers fumbled with Cas’ belt - and it could have been a few seconds, or it could have been forever, before Dean has Cas’ jeans and boxers down around his ankles. He did take a few moments to admire the bees on Cas’ boxers before he dropped to his knees and ran a gentle finger along the length of Cas’ dick. It jumped under Dean’s touch. 

Hard, and shiny, with a soft curve to the right. It looked delicious. Leaning forward, Dean nuzzled in at the thick hair at the base, breathing in the heady scent of _Cas_ before letting his lips drift slowly over Cas’ balls. Laying down light little kisses, Dean felt Cas give a full body shiver. 

Then without giving any warning, Dean licked a long stripe along the length of Cas’ cock. 

“Dean!” Cas hissed the words as his hands scrabbled against Dean’s head. 

Then the bastard pushed Dean’s face first into his groin. 

Not that Dean minded. At least he wasn’t choking on Cas’ dick, and since he wasn’t going anywhere, he teased Cas’ balls with the tip of his tongue, before sucking one into his mouth. 

“De-eeean.” 

Oh that was more like it. Cas’ hands were pulling at his hair. Running his hands down the front of Cas’ thighs, with a loud _pop_ Dean let his treasure fall from his mouth. Then, he lightly kissed up the length of Cas,licking along the vein and leaving butterfly kisses whenever it pulsed beneath his lips and tongue. 

It was a slow journey. 

Cas was leaking precome by the time Dean made it to the tip. So he licked the sensitive head, relishing Cas’ groan. He turned it into a moan as he sucked the head in just gently. 

“Dean! You’re mouth…” 

Letting the head pop out he brushed his cheek against the velvety smoothness. 

“Yeah?” He asked huskily. “You like that? You like it when my mouth is on your cock, sucking and kissing and tasting?” 

Suiting actions to his words, Dean ran his tongue over the top, before sucking it in gently again. Cas’ hips thrust automatically, and Dean was glad he’d kept his hands on Cas thighs. Popping off again, he ran his hand over the tip, gathering the precome and sliding his hand down Cas’ length. When he was wet enough (next time Dean would have to remember lube, that would make this a lot more comfortable), he brought his hands together, squeezing gently even as he took more of Cas in his mouth. 

Cas was doing his best to stand still, and not fuck Dean’s throat. But it was hard - the way his hips thrust abortively, tiny little movements, tiny enough that with each thrust up Dean moved his head down, taking more and more of Cas in his mouth. When he hummed appreciatively, Cas couldn’t hold back his shout. 

“Dean!”

Dean sucked harder, hands finding and squeezing Cas’ balls while he licked and sucked and hummed until he felt that tell tale tightening and- 

“Dean, I’m going to-” 

Was all the warning Dean had before Cas was shooting down his throat. Dean swallowed until Cas’ cock was limp in his mouth. Pulling back, Dean let Cas fall from his mouth, before leaning forward to give the tip a quick kiss. Cas still hadn’t quite got his breath back, and Dean smirked up at him. 

“So next time we- _hey_!” 

Between one breath and the next Cas had hauled him back up, and was kissing him. Cas’ tongue pushed against his lips and this time it was Dean that had to pull back. 

“What the hell? I taste like spunk and that’s gross.” 

Cas raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t see how kissing you after you have fellated me is more gross than you swallowing. And it’s not as if I haven’t tasted my own semen before. But what I really want to do is-”

Dean never found out what Cas really wanted to do, as he was rudely interrupted by the head librarian banging on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n Dean’s assignment is excellent and he gets a pass!  
> Also! remember to use a condom, even with oral sex, unless you are fluid bonded.


	7. Chapter 7

They were back in front of their fountain, where Cas had soothed his fears all those weeks ago. This time, though, Cas was the one in distress, so Dean had gotten the coffees. As Cas paced back and forth, Dean tried to stop laughing. 

“It’s not funny, Dean. That’s the second time I’ve been kicked out of the library.” 

“Me too. That’s two for two.” Dean stopped laughing long enough to tell him proudly.

Cas sent him a bitchface worthy of Sam. “It’s nothing to be proud of. Libraries are sacred sanctuaries of students. Bastians of learning. A place where all learners are created equal. Even you, Dean.”

Dean was on the receiving end of one of Cas’ stern looks, when Cas face filled with mortification. 

Oh God,” he groaned, “I have sullied a sacred place of learning. _Me_. I don’t know if I will ever be able to show my face again!” 

Attempting self control, Dean patted Cas on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry, Cas. It wasn’t your face they were looking at.” Dean dissolved into laughter again. Fuck it had been funny! Cas had looked almost as shocked as the librarian. 

Cas maintained his stoic face for all of a minute before he smiled at Dean. 

“It’s been a good day, hasn’t it”?” 

Dean couldn’t stop his face lighting up. “Cas, it’s been a fucking _awesome_ day.” 

He’d passed his paper. He’d made out with is best friend. He’d also given a damn good headjob. There was so much more he wanted to do though… And why couldn't he? Sammy was still at school, Dad hadn’t been seen all week, and Dean was only working three days a week. He had a whole afternoon off!

Holding out a hand, Dean pulled Cas to his feet before throwing an arm round his shoulder and planting a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek. He pulled Cas in close, and just _sighed_ at the rightness of it all. 

“It’s been a lot,” he admitted “It’s been a hell of a lot. Without you, I wouldn’t have learned about the bees-” 

“And Sam and Cain. They were both instrumental in your learning-”

“ _However_ ,” Dean just steamrollered over Cas’ stupid acknowledgement of the facts, “I can teach you all about the birds _and_ the bees.” 

Cas’ eye roll was practically a shout. 

“How long have you been wanting to use that line?” 

Dean pulled Cas in for a kiss. A proper one. 

“Ever since you taught me ‘bout the bees, not the birds.”

[](https://imgur.com/VuDyuuB)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it, we've come to the end of this little adventure. 
> 
> I want to thank you all of my friends who helping to beta and making this a much more readable fic.  
> And I want to thank you, my readers, for reading along! I hope you have enjoyed learning 'bout the bees not the birds :)


End file.
